Michigan
21-10, 13-7B1G
Northern Kentucky
19-13, 9-7HL
Wolverines Sweep Northern Kentucky to Open NCAA Tournament
12/6/2019 7:25:00 PM | Volleyball
» Paige Jones had a match-high 11 kills.
» Middles Cori Crocker and Jess Robinson had nine and eight kills, respectively, while each hit .500.
» MacKenzi Welsh finished with 36 assists.
Site: Lexington, Ky. (Memorial Coliseum)
Event: NCAA Tournament, First Round
Score: Michigan 3, Northern Kentucky 0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-22)
Records: U-M (21-10), NKU (19-13)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Dec. 7 -- vs. #11 Kentucky - NCAA Tournament, Second Round (Lexington, Ky.), 7 p.m. (TV: SEC Network+)
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The No. 22-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team earned a sweep (25-22, 25-15, 25-22) against Northern Kentucky to open the 2019 NCAA Tournament on Friday (Dec. 6) at Memorial Coliseum.
Michigan (22-10) will take on host No. 11-ranked Kentucky, which swept Southeast Missouri State in its first-round contest, on Saturday (Dec. 7) at 7 p.m. inside Memorial Coliseum. The match will be streamed live on SEC Network Plus.
The Wolverine middles were the key to the U-M offense, as fifth-year senior Cori Crocker had nine kills and freshman Jess Robinson added eight while both hitting .500 on the night. Sophomore Paige Jones led Michigan with 11 kills, and senior MacKenzi Welsh divvied out 36 assists to lead the way.
Michigan edged out NKU in the first set, 25-22, that featured six lead changes and was tied 11 times. Neither team led by more than four points in the match.
The Wolverines came back to quickly take a 2-0 match lead thanks to a 25-15 win in the second set. The Wolverines hit .370 over the course of the set, leaning heavily on senior Sydney Wetterstrom's four kills in the stanza.
Michigan then finished off the match with a hard-fought victory in set three. The Wolverines trailed, 22-21, in the latter stage of the set, but a 4-0 run with junior Natalie Smith at the line was capped by an ace to give U-M the sweep.
